Week 3 - Training/Academy Training; Intro to Use of Force - JCSO Citizen's Academy

Well tonight's class was to include an introduction to the Professional Standards Unit but that discussion has been deferred to a different night due to a conflict (ie someone forgot to communicate to Major Reed that he was supposed to present tonight.  Oops!)  So, class consisted of Training and Intro to Force.

Captain Rick Simpson and Lieutenant Joe Nagy discussed violence faced by officers and some of the stats.  Lieutenant Nagy stated that Line of Duty deaths are on record pace again this year.  Actually that's not accurate.  LOD deaths are down 51% this year compared to this time last year but his point about LOD deaths being too many is accurate.  One LOD death is too many (regardless of your profession)!  Law Enforcement Officer LOD deaths by gunfire are down 50% and Auto-Related deaths are down 43%.  (Statistics are from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund web page. Click here to go to their page.)  The numbers are still very high compared to just a few years ago indicating that violence against LEOs is very high and not really decreasing.  Because of the risk of violence, JCSO focuses on survival training for their deputies.  The goal is to go home at the end of their shift.  Training helps officers be safe and provide safety to those they serve.

Lieutenant Nagy discussed training.  JCSO has 8 trainers whose full time job is to focus on training their deputies.  JCSO also has 2 deputies assigned specifically to Research and Planning.  They are responsible for trying out new equipment, technology etc for the department and once it is decided to move forward with the new equipment or technology, to train the deputies on it.  JCSO has approximately 470 deputies that require training so that can be a daunting task!

JCSO Trainers have 3 main responsibilities: 1) Train New Recruits; 2) In-Service Training; 3) Specialty Classes.  JCSO primarily uses the Police Academy at Johnson County Community College for new hires but occasionally will use the Hutchison, KS location depending on hire date.  JCSO provides instructors to assist at the Police Academy.  State mandates requires deputies to attain a minimum of 40 hours of training a year to maintain their certification as a LEO.  JCSO often goes above and beyond the state requirements.  Lt. Nagy ran the stats from last years training and learned that JCSO deputies averaged 109 hours of training last year.  Nice job JCSO!

Deputies receive 3 weeks of training before they even go to the Police Academy.  Many new hires are brand new to Law Enforcement.  Firearms and Emergency Driving are often the most difficult tasks for recruits to master so JCSO orients them to it before they head off to the Academy.  JCSO does this so that deputies are introduced to JCSO policies and procedures but ALSO to set them up for success at the Academy.  The Police Academy lasts 16 weeks.  Deputies will then return to JCSO for additional training before moving in to their assigned positions.

One participant asked if deputies have fitness standards they must meet.  New hires must pass a fitness battery test upon hire that follows the Cooper Fitness Institute Standards.  Once hired there are no standards that must be met annually.  Editors note:  This is pretty consistent nationwide.  For some reason Law Enforcement has not followed suit with the Fire Industry in implementing annual requirements.  May be a political issue as was seen in the Fire Industry.  This is an area that I follow closely due to my profession which includes stress testing on fire fighters and law enforcement officers.  You will note though that many municipalities now provide Wellness programs to their employees to include fire and police but these are not mandated standards that must be followed.  It is however an improvement.  Update:  During week 4 when I was doing the FX scenarios I was speaking with some of the deputies involved with training and they really hope that fitness will become part of their annual training.  They have reason to believe that it might which sounds good because too many times an officer is injured when they may not have been if they were in better physical condition.

JCSO training standards include yearly training on Weapons, Emergency Driving and Defensive (Officer Survival) Tactics.  CPR training is every 2 years and Cultural Diversity training is every 2-3 years.  Deputies in specialty roles such as Directed Patrol are required to attend additional training.  Some areas of additional training include:  Spanish for LEOs, Training Officer Certification, Active Shooter Response (necessary due to increased multi casualty shootings now occurring in US), Equipment Orientation, Simulator Training, Tactical Firearms, Stop Stick, Coach Van Driver, Seminars geared towards law enforcement and outside specialty training as needed.

Lt. Nagy showed a presentation on violence faced by officers.  Officers are taught to never give up no matter what (injured or not).  The Use of Force Law was introduced and JCSO's philosophy on training for the Use of Force model was discussed. 

Class concluded with a brief review of Simulator training and a few participants got to practice on the Simulator.  Some were good, others not so much.  I didn't get an opportunity to practice so I better not knock anyone who did! 

Next week we will be introduced to the equipment JCSO uses and get a chance to practice different scenarios.  Should be interesting!